CaCeRMDI president and founder Leo Ekhaguere (left) with students at P.A.'s St. Mary High School. (Facebook/Cacermdi TV)

By Jaryn Vecchio

Special Event

P.A. set to host week-long international raw materials conference

Dec 6, 2023 | 5:00 PM

People from across the world interested in Canada’s raw materials will be coming to Prince Albert.

The Canadian Centre for Raw Materials Display Inc. (CaCeRMDI), a non-profit stationed in Saskatchewan’s third biggest city, will be hosting a week-long conference in hopes of creating some new investment opportunities.

The focus will be on Alberta’s raw materials.

“Our mandate is to promote all the raw materials in all provinces and territories, so people who are investors can know where to go,” said Leo Ekhaguere, the president and founder of CaCeRMDI.

When people are asked to name a raw material in Alberta, the vast majority would say oil. While it will be discussed, limestone and lithium will be the main talking points.

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Limestone is currently mined in the province, however, the same can’t be said for lithium.

“Currently, it’s being mined in Manitoba and Quebec… but we’ve already sent our researchers to (look into) the geology of Alberta and see the occurrence of lithium,” said Ekhaguere.

That information will be shared, while CaCeRMDI also hopes to find out if people would be interested in purchasing the material from the province.

Right now, over 50 delegates have signed up for the conference. The majority are from Nigeria, where Ekhaguere is from, though there will also be representatives from Ghana, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Ekhaguere is hoping to see more delegates sign up as they also want to help improve Canada’s reputation internationally.

“We want to create a picture of hospitality, a picture of inclusion, a picture of Canada being the multicultural country that we are.”

While the non-profit is focused on advocating for raw materials, Ekhaguere couldn’t help but wonder what impact the event could have on Prince Albert’s economy.

“They’re gonna stay here for one week. They’re gonna eat our food and they’re gonna pay PST and GST,” he said excitedly.

The hope is to host two conferences a year in Prince Albert. This upcoming event is actually the second as the organization hosted a virtual conference in November to highlight Saskatchewan’s raw materials, specifically uranium, and potash. Ekhaguere explained some delegates from Nigeria have already expressed interest in the province’s potash.

The conference will be held from April 25 to May 2, 2024.

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Jaryn.Vecchio@pattisonmedia.com

On X: @princealbertnow